MEDIA INDIGENA 341

Is the Supreme Court ruling on Canada's Indigenous child welfare law a victory for the status quo? ⚖️ MI 341

On this week’s Indigenous round table: legal limbo?

Did the Supreme Court’s recent rejection of Quebec’s constitutional challenge to Bill C-92 really cement the self-determination of Indigenous peoples on child welfare? Or did it seal in the status quo, one where the feds still hold all the cards and all the funds?

A ruling described as “very beautiful” by one leader, hailed as paving “the road… for the transfer of authority” by another, such celebrations risk missing the core point of C-92’s critics: that it was always a half measure, keeping full authority and jurisdiction in the grips of the Canadian government. Making the supreme hype about the Supreme Court’s ruling all the more puzzling.

Now that the pixie dust has settled, MEDIA INDIGENA regulars Brock Pitawanakwat (associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University) and Ken Williams (associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama) joined host/producer Rick Harp to try and decipher where things now stand after the ruling, drawing on the perspective of well-known child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.

Links referenced/consulted this episode:

• Nishnawbe Aski Nation Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Federal Bill C-92 NAN
• MMF, Government of the Red River Métis Nation applauds unanimous decision of the Supreme Court Manitoba Métis Federation
• The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Applauds the Supreme Court of Canada’s Decision Regarding An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Children, Youth, and Families AMC
• More than half the children in care are Indigenous, census data suggests CBC News
• An Indigenous mother took her life after child welfare took her kids. What can be done? Global News
• Transforming Child Welfare Legislation In Manitoba: Opportunities to Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth www.gov.mb.ca
• The Promises and Pitfalls of C-92 Yellowhead Institute
• Former Harper advisor [Bruce Carson] had deal with escort for First Nations water contracts: document APTN News
• The Troubling Basis for the Supreme Court’s Child Welfare Law Decision First Peoples Law

. . . . . . . . . .

LISTEN NOW:

https://pod.fo/e/2215b2